Minister of Culture: Friday Imams and Judiciary Also Involved in Concert Cancellations

The Iranian Minister of Culture announced the cancellation of 9 music concerts over the past six months, stating that in addition to the police, in some cases, Friday Imams oppose the holding of concerts, and in other cases, the judiciary does not permit concerts to take place. Ali Jannati, in an interview with the Sunday, August 25 issue of Etemad newspaper, also criticized the performance of 'an underground singer' on an Iranian warship without naming Amir Tataloo, saying that 'people like this... cannot perform artistic programs anywhere.' The Minister emphasized that the cancellation of concerts in several Iranian cities is 'related to unrelated currents' to the Ministry of Culture. According to Mr. Jannati, in addition to concert cancellations by the police, in some cases, the opposition of Friday Imams to holding concerts 'causes those with religious sentiments to prevent concerts from being held in cities.' The Minister added, 'Of course, in some cases, the judiciary also intervenes and does not allow concerts to be held, but efforts are being made to coordinate with the judiciary and the police so that we no longer witness the cancellation of music concerts.' Regarding the discussions about the prohibition of concerts in religious cities like Mashhad, he said, 'In a city like Mashhad, it is not the case that concerts are completely banned; rather, we have witnessed concerts being held on a case-by-case basis.' Mr. Jannati added, 'The reality is that we also do not agree with such a situation and believe that this issue should be resolved somehow.' Since the coming to power of Hassan Rouhani's government, the cancellation of music concerts has repeatedly made headlines, and at the same time, Pirouz Arjomand, the former director of the Music Office, reported on July 4, one day before his resignation, that 21 concerts had been canceled in the past year. While Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, has implicitly called for other institutions not to interfere in the holding of music concerts, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the head of the judiciary, had previously said, 'Do you accept that they allow a concert to create a common dancing ground for youth? The judiciary's discussion in some cities has also been of this nature.' Officials from the Ministry of Culture have previously expressed hope that with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between this ministry and the police, the issue of concert cancellations would be resolved. In his interview, the Minister of Culture also criticized the performance of 'an underground singer on one of the warships,' stating that 'people like this, when they do not have a performance permit, cannot perform artistic programs anywhere.' He emphasized, 'We certainly know that the ships present in the Persian Gulf are also considered part of Iran's geographical territory.' The release of a video clip by Amir Tataloo, an 'underground' singer, in July supporting Iran's nuclear program, while he was given the facilities of a military base and a warship of the Islamic Republic's Navy to produce this video, received significant attention on social media and news websites in Iran. Amir Hossein Maqsoudloo, known as Amir Tataloo, has not had permission for artistic activity in Iran for years and has released his albums without obtaining permission from the Ministry of Culture. He has produced songs in the fields of rap, pop, jazz, and blues. In this context, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture stated that after an agreement with the police, no concert would be canceled anymore. The Minister of Interior stated that they are exaggerating, and only 9 concerts have been canceled. A meeting of two ministers from Rouhani's government was held to 'determine the fate' of concert holding. The Minister of Culture mentioned that the problem with some concerts is 'the audience.'